EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Playing time hasn't come easily for Chance Warmack this season and maybe things haven't gone exactly as he planned upon signing a one-year contract with the Eagles as an unrestricted free agent last spring.
But on Sunday against the Giants, Warmack was called upon to start at left guard in place of the injured Stefen Wisniewski and he played a solid game. Warmack said he "felt like a little kid out there" as he went the entire game after playing just 142 offensive snaps (15 percent) in the previous 13 games.
The Eagles gained 351 total net yards on their way to 34 points in the win over the Giants. Playing against a strong Giants defensive front, the Eagles allowed just one sack of quarterback Nick Foles when Olivier Vernon beat left tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai off the edge for a sack and a forced fumble.
Otherwise, Foles was clean, and he stepped up and threw four touchdown passes in his first start of the season. The Eagles ran the ball for 108 yards on 27 carries and scored four touchdowns on six trips inside the New York 20-yard line.
"I was happy to be out there," Warmack said. "Experience is the best teacher so once you get warm and kind of get a feel for it, you're going to get better and better. I was just happy to be out on the field and playing with my teammates.
"It was beautiful, man. Just to be able to play and not think about it was great."
New York's defense is strong inside and the Giants bring a lot of pressure, so the Eagles really held up well with Warmack and Vaitai on the left side. If Wisniewski's injured ankle doesn't come around enough to play on Monday night against Oakland, Warmack is ready for another nod as the starter.
"It's hard to say how I played until I look at the film, but I felt good out there and I felt like I got better and better," he said. "Any game you play it's going to give you confidence. You're going to learn from the bad and build off the good. It's just a good feeling to have this. Any little thing you get in this league, you cherish. It's not easy in the NFL."
Warmack knows that. On Sunday, he got some of his and the Eagles' offensive machine, leading the NFL in points scored, continued without skipping much of a beat.
The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New York Giants to move to 12-2 on the season. The victory also helped the team secure a first-round bye for the playoffs.